Grounded for Life? Remember when (like last year) drones were the Next Big Thing in tech gadgets? Well, what is a drone if it doesn’t get off the ground?

Not much. And a couple of big-name local tech companies are having problems keeping their drones in the air, if they get them up at all.

It looks like Alphabet’s Project Wing drone-based delivery program is headed for the aircraft graveyard. A report from Bloomberg said Project Wing, which is part of Alphabet’s X research lab, is winding down much of its operations amid a company-wide effort to rein in costs on some of Alphabet’s Other Bets, as the company calls projects that don’t involve Android phones and tablets, or the Google search and internet business.

The Bloomberg report said Project Wing recently put the kibosh on a partnership with Starbucks that was meant to build upon Alphabet’s efforts in the product-delivery business. The two companies were said to have disagreed over how much access Alphabet was to have to Starbucks’ customer data.

As if that weren’t enough Project Wing drama to deal with, The Wall Street Journal said that two of the program’s top managers were recently forced out of their jobs due to bickering and infighting among Project Wing’s top staff.

Along with all the Project Wing issues, drones were also grounded by GoPro, which on Wednesday recalled its brand-new Karma drones, which just went on sale in late October. GoPro said it recalled the Karma line due to reports that some of the drones would lose power in mid-air and then crash. GoPro said it would fix the problem and get the Karmas back in the air soon.

Middle Innings:

Cut the Check: It used to be that for movie stars, appearing on TV was seen as a second-class move, something to be done after their star had dimmed from the silver screen, but necessary to keep their name somewhat in the public eye.

This is how the likes of Trevor Howard and Olivia de Havilland ended up on “The Love Boat.”

But TV has changed so much that any stigma associated with being on a TV show is long gone. Kevin Spacey has two Oscars and anchors Netflix’s political drama “House of Cards.” Billy Bob Thornton has recently won high praise for his role as a brilliant but down-on-his-luck lawyer seeking redemption in Amazon’s “Goliath,” which also stars Academy Award winner William Hurt.

There have been some holdouts. (I’m still waiting for Eddie Murphy to reclaim his throne, and there has to be some series that could lure his talents to TV.) But one of the biggest “gets” of all is coming to Amazon, and he won’t come cheap.

Robert De Niro may have been coasting with his work the last several years. But when he wants to, he can still reach back and bring the high heat, so to speak. De Niro recently was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for “Silver Linings Playbook,” and it looks like he’s teaming up with that movie’s director, David O. Russell, to come to TV for the first time in, well … maybe forever.

De Niro reportedly will get $850,000 per episode to star in Russell’s as-yet-untitled series for Amazon. The role might not be much of a stretch for De Niro, as the series is said to be a Mafia drama consisting of 16 episodes over two seasons. However, he won’t be the only Oscar holder among the show’s cast, as recent Academy Award winner Julianne Moore has also joined the series.

Bottom of the Lineup:

Here’s a look at how some leading Silicon Valley stocks did Wednesday…

Rex Crum is the senior web editor for the business section for The Mercury News and Bay Area News Group. He also writes about business and technology for the publications' print and web editions, and has covered business and technology for nearly two decades. A native of Seattle, he remains a diehard Seahawks and Mariners fan and is imparting his fandom to his Oakland-native wife and two young daughters.

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